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By John FunkTHE PLAIN DEALER • Monday July 2, 2012 5:33 AM

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoJoshua Gunter | The Plain DealerBryan Yurchiak, of the Witchey Lightning Rod Co. in Rittman, makes his way down the Kent State University Field House roof between two rows of solar panels. Lightning rods are spaced around the rooftop to divert lightning from the 1,716 panels, which cover almost 1 acre.

KENT, Ohio — Anybody who doubts Kent State University is a sports powerhouse should visit the Field House at the school’s main campus.

A $1.5 million solar array — the largest at any public university in Ohio — will cover the building’s nearly 1-acre roof. The system’s 1,716 solar panels, now being installed by Thompson Electric of Munroe Falls, will generate nearly a half-million watts when completed this month.

Solar developer Third Sun of Athens, Ohio, estimates the array will generate annually the equivalent of enough electricity for 50 homes. That’s about a third of the power consumed in the field house and nearby Dix Stadium, said Robert Misbrener, project manager for the office of the university architect.

When electrical demand at the field house and stadium is less, the power flowing off the roof will go into FirstEnergy Corp.’s wires — with a monthly credit back to the school, he said.

Third Sun financed the project and will own the array for seven years, selling the power to the school at a rate higher than FirstEnergy’s rate, said Third Sun President Geoff Greenfield. But that rate also buys solar renewable-energy credits that Ohio utility regulators count for every kilowatt-hour generated.

The university will sell the credits to electric utilities which, by law, must buy such credits or face a stiff fine if they fail to generate electricity at their own solar farms.

When the cash from the credits is accounted for, the price of the power should be slightly lower than the utility rate, Misbrener said.

After seven years, the university has the option to buy the system, or it can negotiate a new power-purchasing contract, he said.